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A partnership between MassDOT and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program to preserve a rare species is taking new steps at the site of a MassDOT construction project early in 2013. The Endangered Species Program staff earlier this year
Photo: MassDOT | Public domain | Wikimedia Commons

Tourist Charged In Federal Case Over Rock Thrown At Hawaiian Monk Seal

Written by TNNBot on

Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, was charged in federal court Wednesday in Honolulu after a witness video showed him throwing a rock at a Hawaiian monk seal on a Lahaina, Maui, beach earlier in May.[1]

Federal prosecutors charged him with harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.[1] If convicted he could face up to one year in jail on each count and fines as high as $50,000 under the ESA and $20,000 under the MMPA.[1]

A witness video recorded on a Lahaina beach shows a rock narrowly missing the head of the adult male seal, officials said. Officials identified the animal as an adult male designated R404. Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with about 1,600 left in the wild.

Lytvynchuk, of Covington, Washington, arranged to surrender in the Seattle area as NOAA special agents sought his arrest, and he is due in court Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Honolulu.[1] His lawyer said he had been assaulted around the time of the incident.[1]

  1. CBS News
Courts and Legal Endangered Species and Wildlife Protection
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📌 Key Facts

  • Incident occurred earlier in May 2026 on a Lahaina, Maui beach and was captured in a witness video showing a rock narrowly missing a Hawaiian monk seal's head.
  • Defendant Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is charged in U.S. District Court in Honolulu with harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.
  • Lytvynchuk arranged to surrender in the Seattle area as NOAA special agents sought his arrest and is due in court on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
  • If convicted, he faces up to one year in prison on each charge, a fine of up to $50,000 under the ESA and up to $20,000 under the MMPA.
  • Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, with only about 1,600 left in the wild, and officials identified the animal as an adult male designated R404.

📰 Source Timeline (1)

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May 27, 2026
11:21 AM
Man accused of hurling rock at rare seal was assaulted, lawyer says
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